Just Another Day on the Plains

When clouds like this roll in, I am always in awe. But out here this is just another day on the plains.

 

Rain clouds roll across the drought-stricken southwest Oklahoma plains

Near Frederick, Oklahoma

Fire In the Sky

Storm watching is a front porch activity around here. People don't get too excited until a funnel actually touches the ground. This part of the country is often referred to as tornado alley, and it's a well-earned name. In fact, my first published photograph was of a tornado taken from my grandparents' front yard, when I was 15, as my grandfather looked on.

Today as the clouds moved in and the temperature dropped, I found a good spot and settled in my grandparents' yard. And waited.

Lightning in Tornado Alley

July 10, 2012

South of Frederick, Oklahoma

Kildeer

Kildeer

In cow pasture

Southwest Oklahoma

This is one of my favorite birds. I remember following them, as a child, as they walked along the once muddy, hardened ground around the pond behind my grandparents' house, listening to their distinctive call and wondering why in the world they didn't fly away.

Have iPhone Will Photo

With the computer gone (R.I.P. HP), I didn't have the luxury of downloading photos from my "real" camera. But with iPhone in hand, I couldn't resist the urge to keep taking photos.

Above: Clouds roll in

Southwest Oklahoma

Above: Cattle graze as clouds gather overhead

Near the Oklahoma Texas border

Above: Waiting for rain 

Tillman County, Oklahoma

Above: "Busy Corner"

Hollis, Oklahoma

Above: Ladybug eggs

Southwest Oklahoma

Above: Hay bales and house

Near Hollister, Oklahoma

Above: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

The State Bird of Oklahoma

Near Frederick, Oklahoma

(Really wishing I had the "real" camera and zoom lens here)

Above: Wheat ready for harvest

Tillman County, Oklahoma

Above: Glad for muddy boots!

Thankful for the rain.

Tillman County, Oklahoma

Above: Wind sweeping down the plains

Near Oklaunion, Texas

Where the Deer and the Buffalo Play